Last Chance to Report Summer Wild Turkey Brood Sightings

Contact:Ted Walski: (603) 352-9669Kent Gustafson: (603) 271-2461

August 28, 2017

CONCORD, N.H. -- The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s summer Turkey Brood Survey ends August 31. Get online and report your sightings of hen turkeys, with or without young, at www.wildnh.com/surveys/turkeybrood.html. The survey provides data which helps Fish and Game biologists determine the distribution and abundance of wild turkeys throughout the state.

"Observations made in late summer are especially important," said Fish and Game turkey biologist Ted Walski. "Those young who have survived into August are likely to become adults, so these sightings provide the best index to summer breeding productivity."

Some helpful background for turkey observers: The term “brood” refers to a family group of young turkeys accompanied by a hen. New Hampshire hens generally begin laying eggs from mid-April to early May and complete their clutch of about 12 eggs in early to mid-May. Incubation lasts for 28 days, and most nests hatch from late May to mid-June. If incubating turkey eggs are destroyed or consumed by predators, hens often lay a replacement clutch of eggs that hatch late June through late August.

Wildlife research and management in New Hampshire is funded in part by Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration, a user-pay, user-benefit program supported by your purchase of firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment.